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Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw…I’m a step away from making a mix tape and crimping my hair with the random 80’s onslaught that has inhabited my life recently.

The 1980’s. It was exaggerated and bright time period, the music, the styles, fads and fashions were all overstated and embellished. It’s a vibrant and care-free middle child to the war ridden 70’s and self-obsessed and angsty 90’s of recent past. Recently, we’re taking hold of our 80’s heritage and now we’re re-obsessed with color, with fun music and clothes that are a throwback to that time period. Because of this influx, it’s not surprising there’s been a triple invasion of 80’s culture to my simple life. I love the 80’s, but other than it’s music, I don’t find myself on its radar most of the time. Until this week. This week, that was not the case.

This is what happened: I started reading a new book, knowing nothing about its contents and was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Turns out, it is centered around the glorious decade that is the 80’s. Then, some friends and I happen upon a random bar we’d never heard of before and…well, you’ll see, but I’m guessing that you’re guessing it has something to do with the 80’s and, like, you’d be right, bitchin! Go ahead…keep reading –

It’s the year 2044, the earth has gone to complete shit, our 18-year-old Protagonist lives in “the stacks” (think trailer park except with all the trailers stacked vertically forming a new version of The Projects.) An extremely high-tech, detailed and comprehensive virtual reality called OASIS has been created by a mastermind, Steve Jobs type, to help the population cope with its current living circumstances. Kids attend school here, people hang out, travel, everything you would do in real life, they do in this alt-world. When the creator of this parallel universe dies, the Contest is born. The users of OASIS are challenged to “find” three gates hidden in this virtual reality world he’s created. Once you find them and beat all the challenges presented, you become the beneficiary to his estate and the recipient of his billions of dollars, etc. Being the 80’s lover that he was, people begin studying everything 80’s. Since this takes place 33 years in the future it is amusing the way the author references current film directors, fads, video games and musicians as a thing of the past. It’s an interesting little headfuck and a very easy and enjoyable read.

Awesome pinballs at Blipsy Barcade.

GO – Blipsy Barcade – What a wacky place. The description is in the title, Bar. Arcade. See!! I’m a little upset with myself that I didn’t stumble upon this gem of a place until now, but better late than never, I suppose. It is stuffed with old video games, mostly from the 80s; you won’t find any of that too cool for school Mortal Combat or anything Tekken. It has two pinball machines (my personal favorite), Donkey Kong, Mrs. Pacman, Joust, Robotron, Double Dragon, Rampage, Spy Hunter, Asteroids, Centipede, etc. and they all cost a quarter to play. A quarter. Again, a quarter. No rip off artists here. There was a great DJ spinning 80s (and some 90s) music and the crowd was milling about dancing, playing and generally being non-pretentious. Good for them! It was busy, but not crowded; you could still move around. It’s the epitome of a shitty dive so bring cash; no credit cards accepted. I’ll be going back in the very near future.

For the Record series at Rockwell.

DO – For the Record: John Hughes – So very very much fun! Dinner Theatre at it’s best! As we are assigned our seats at the bar we immediately notice they have some drink specials – cocktails named after some classic references, such as Long Duck Dong, She’s Alive, and my drink of choice, The Abe Froman. The energy in the crowd was wonderful and you can tell everyone was there in the same capacity. No judging, no agenda, just to enjoy what was the classic John Hughes movie and all of its comedy and music. As a child of the 80’s, I appreciated everything about it. All the references, dance moves, song choices and inside jokes. There isn’t a bad seat in the house and since the cast moves around the space constantly, you’ll never feel like you’re going to miss an entire bit.

These performances are actually a series. “For the Record” puts on many different shows, all with the same idea…music and short excerpts usually formed around a certain movie or director. Some past shows include “Boogie Nights” and Quentin Tarantino. Do yourself a favor and try to catch John Hughes in time, or wait until the next installment – Martin Scorsese. Man, if they do anything to do with “Casino” I’ll be institutionalized. – hit up goldstar.com for discounted tickets

If you find yourself looking for a little extra 80’s in your life and you’re not in the mood for fluorescent clothes or a “Pop-Up Video” marathon why don’t you go ahead and give these a look-see –